Bice noted that the school system has increased its graduation rate from 72 to 80 percent over the past two years.

He said the two-year extension is not long enough to accomplish all of his goals -- and 10 years may not be enough -- but the system needs to continue moving toward a 90 percent graduation rate and toward reducing college remediation rates for graduates.

"What I had asked for was an extension of my contract, of the work we're doing," he said. "I wanted to make sure that we had time to get that done. Sometimes, you make tough decisions. You need protection to make that occur."

The pay raise for Bice comes after Gov. Robert Bentley signed an education budget from the Legislature this year that awarded no raises to teachers.

Vice President Ella Bell said the pay increase came at the recommendation of a four-member committee that she appointed to reconsider Bice's compensation.

She appointed that committee at the request of Gov. Robert Bentley, she said.

Members of the ad hoc committee were Bell, Mary Scott Hunter of Huntsville, Jeffery Newman of Millport and Yvette Richardson of Birmingham -- all school board members -- according to meeting minutes.

Not all of the committee members supported the recommendation. Hunter, who chaired the committee, proposed a slightly smaller pay hike that would have made the state superintendent's pay $10,000 more than the highest paid local superintendent.

She also proposed a system of incentives for the state superintendent.

Minutes show Hunter apposed the recommendation in committee, though she supported it in today's meeting.

Ella Bell, who supported the raise, said the pay raise was needed to create parity between the state superintendent and the two-year college chancellor.

The committee also considered how competitive the compensation was compared to local superintendents as well as the pay of other state superintendents, she said.

School board members Betty Peters of Kinsey and Stephanie Bell of Montgomery voted against the new contract.

She also said she wanted to hear from Gov. Bentley on the issue, noting that the governor's office has not yet released to the board Bice's 2013 evaluation, nor has the governor called for the 2014 evaluation of Bice, which is due in November.

By virtue of his elected position, Bentley serves as president of the board, though he was absent from today's meeting.

Stephanie Bell said it is the responsibility of the governor to oversee the superintendent's annual evaluation by the board and that Bice's contract requires the board to discuss the evaluation with the superintendent.

Bice said he owns Alabama's low NAPE rankings, which he called "unacceptable." He also said he anticipates improvement when Alabama students take the tests again this fall.

"I feel confident that our scores will increase and be respectable," he said. "If not, I need to stop being the state superintendent."

Stephanie Bell estimated the new contract would also include between $25,000 and $50,000 in benefits for Bice. The Alabama State Department of Education has not yet released a copy of the contract.

"I've never seen one this large during my tenure on the board, and that's been 20 years," she said.

She rejected the argument that the raise was needed to create parity between the two-year college chancellor and the state superintendent, saying the chancellor has more authority and responsibility since much of K-12 education is managed by local superintendents.

Board member Charles Elliott of Decatur, who is not seeking re-election after this term, spoke highly of Bice, saying they could not find a "captain of industry" willing to accept responsibility for Alabama's 750,000 students and tens of thousands of educators and support staff for the salary offered.

"I think it's high time Dr. Bice be paid what he's worth and what we're offering is still not what he's worth," he said.